Wheeling Island Announces Outdoor summer Concert Series

Dwight Yoakam, plus Styx and REO Speedwagon “CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ 2009 Tour” with special guests 38 Special will perform live in the Wheeling Island Stadium this summer!

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack made an unprecedented announcement today that they will host two major concert events in the Wheeling Island Stadium this summer.

Country music artist and two-time Grammy winner Dwight Yoakam will perform live on Friday, July 12, 2009 at 8pm followed by the “CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ 2009 Tour” featuring multi-platinum artists Styx and REO Speedwagon with special guests 38 Special on Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 7pm.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday, April 25 and can be ordered by phone at 800-754-3000 or online at TicketMaster.com or wheelingisland.com.

Dwight Yoakam reserved seating is $40, $35 and general admission $30. Styx and REO Speedwagon “CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ 2009 Tour” with special guests 38 Special reserved seating is $45, $40 and general admission $35. The concerts will take place rain or shine at the Wheeling Island stadium and ticket holders must be 18 or older.

Jim Simms, President and General Manager shared the casino’s plans stating “This is an exciting opportunity to attract a new audience to the City of Wheeling. Not only will we bring visitors to our casino, but we anticipate there will be tremendous economic and tourism spin-off from the thousands of visitors attending these concerts. They will stay in our local hotels, eat at our local restaurants and enjoy all the City has to offer.”

On hand to support the concert announcement were officials from the City of Wheeling, Ohio County Schools, Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau and Wheeling Chamber of Commerce.

Local leaders were vocal about their support of the Wheeling Island Outdoor Summer Concert Series. “This project brings together several community based organizations to promote tourism and economic development,” states Terry Sterling, President of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce.

Wheeling City Manger Bob Herron went on to note, “We know that this will attract visitors as well as locals and we’re very excited and fortunate to have the ability to host these concerts in the City of Wheeling.”

ABOUT DWIGHT YOAKAM
Few entertainers have attained the iconic status of Dwight Yoakam. Perhaps that is because so few have consistently and repeatedly met the high standard of excellence delivered by the Kentucky native no matter what his endeavor.

Then there’s Yoakam the actor, who seemingly melts into his roles, impressively standing toe-to-toe with some of the world’s top thespians: Jodie Foster, Tommy Lee Jones, Forest Whitaker, Nicholas Cage.

Much has been made that the Kentucky-born, Ohio-raised Yoakam was too country for Nashville when he first sought out his musical fortune in the mid-80s, but the truth is his music has always been too unique, too ruggedly individualistic to fit neatly into any one box. Like the icons he so admires --Elvis, Merle, Buck-- Yoakam is one of a kind.

He has taken his influences and filtered them into his own potent blend of country and rock that honors his forbearers and yet creates something beautifully new. As Vanity Fair declared, “Yoakam strides the divide between rock’s lust and country’s lament.”

The long-time Los Angeleno has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, placing him in an elite cadre of global superstars. He has 12 gold albums and 9 platinum or multi-platinum albums, including the triple platinum “This Time”. Five of those albums have topped Billboard’s Country Albums chart with another seven landing in the Top 10.

More than 30 singles have charted, with eighteen going top 20, including the incomparable hits “Honky Tonk Man,” “Please Please Baby,” “Little Ways,” “I Sang Dixie,” “It Only Hurts When I Cry,” “Fast as You” and “Thousand Miles from Nowhere.” He’s won two Grammys and earned a staggering 21 nominations.

ABOUT “CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ 2009 TOUR” VH1 Classic and Rock Band ® are proud to bring the CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ 2009 Tour to America, featuring REO Speedwagon, STYX and 38 Special, three of the hardest working bands in rock n roll. CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ kicks off on May13th in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will feature hit-packed sets spanning the course of these three unparalleled rock legacies.

To celebrate their upcoming trek together, STYX and REO Speedwagon teamed up to record a new single, “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” co-written by REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin and STYX’s Tommy Shaw. “Can’t Stop Rockin’” made its radio debut in March and is available for download.

In a prepared statement, Shaw said “It’s been nine years since the Arch Allies tour and it just seemed like the right time to team up with our friends in REO and hit the road again,” says Tommy Shaw.
In a prepared statement, Kevin Cronin adds, “The world is going through a weird phase, and everybody needs music now more than ever. We all need to join our friends, pool our resources, combine our energies, because there is power in people coming together. That spirit has brought REO and Styx together to write, record and tour together, and celebrate it all with the greatest fans in America.”

CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ is dedicated to raising awareness about hunger among American school children by partnering with “Blessings in a Backpack,” a non-profit organization that provides weekend meals to school children in need. Fans attending the CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ tour will be able to help buy food for this valuable effort.

Additional details surrounding the involvement of VH1 Classic and Rock Band ® in the CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ tour will be announced soon.

ABOUT STYX
Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Lawrence Gowan, Todd Sucherman and Ricky Phillips (along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo), have performed more live since ’99 than all of the previous years of its career combined.

Two Super-Bowl appearances, Pollstar Box Office chart-topping tours with Def Leppard, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Bad Company (to name only a few), two more studio albums and no end in sight, STYX continues to conquer the planet, one venue at a time.

Every STYX release throughout the late '70s earned at least platinum certification (1976's Crystal Ball, 1977's The Grand Illusion, 1978's Pieces of Eight, and 1979's Cornerstone), and spawned such hit singles and classic rock radio standards as "Renegade," "Blue Collar Man" and "Fooling Yourself.” Paradise Theater became Styx's biggest hit album of their career (selling over three million copies in a three-year period), as they became one of the U.S. top rock acts due to such big hit singles as "Too Much Time on My Hands." It also marked the first time in history that a band released four consecutive triple-platinum albums.

ABOUT REO SPEEDWAGON
Kevin Cronin, lead singer and principle songwriter, keyboard player and founding member Neal Doughty, bass player Bruce Hall, lead guitarist Dave Amato, and drummer Bryan Hitt, are REO Speedwagon.

Since the release of their first record in 1971, the band has produced 17 critically acclaimed albums including the monumental 10 million seller, Hi Infidelity, had scored 13 Top 40 singles, including the Number One hits “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” “Keep On Loving You,” and “Time For Me To Fly,” timeless classics including "Roll With The Changes", "Ridin' The Storm Out", "Take It On The Run", "Don't Let Him Go" and "Keep Pushin." Their latest album, Find Your Own Way Home, featured the radio favorites “Needed To Fall” and “Smilin’ In The End.” REO Speedwagon has sold more than 40 million albums to date.

ABOUT 38 SPECIAL
Donnie Van Zant and Don Barnes co-founded 38 Special in their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida and have been touring relentlessly for the past 30 years. In its early days, the band built its reputation with its brand of Southern boogie and blues-rock before transforming into a more arena-rock-friendly style, selling millions of albums and garnering fans worldwide.

Since 1975, the band has released more than 15 albums, most of which reached gold or platinum status. Among 38 Special's best-known songs are "Hold on Loosely," "Caught Up in You", "Second Chance", and "Rockin' into the Night". After more than three decades together, 38 Special is still playing more than 100 shows per year. And at every one of them, thousands of audience members are completely blindsided by the explosive power and muscle of the band's performance. "When we come out, people are like, 'Whoa! It's like a freight train rolling over them…'" says Barnes.

About Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment
Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment is one of the most innovative gaming and racing operators in the country, specializing in racing venues with added amenities, including video gaming machines, poker rooms, full service restaurants, retail shops and lodging. The company oversees more than 5,500 video gaming machines across the country and operates at seven successful racing and gaming operations in New York, Arizona, Florida, West Virginia, Arkansas and Latin America. To date, Delaware North Companies is one of only five operators of video gaming machines at racetrack locations in New York State. The company is owned by Delaware North Companies, a global leader in hospitality and one of the largest privately held companies in the world. www.DelawareNorth.com.

About Delaware North Companies
Delaware North Companies is one of the world’s leading hospitality and food service providers. Its family of companies includes Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment, Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, Delaware North Companies International and Delaware North Companies Boston, owner of TD Banknorth Garden. Delaware North Companies is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States with revenues exceeding $2 billion annually and 50,000 associates serving half a billion customers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. For more information, visit www.DelawareNorth.com.

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